WCI COMMUNITIES HOSTS BROWARD MASTER BROKERS FORUM DISCUSSION ON "MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE SOUTH FLORIDA REAL ESTATE MARKET"
A panel discussion featuring some of South Florida’s most influential real estate reporters and editors was held at the latest meeting of the Broward Master Brokers Forum (MBF). The event was hosted and sponsored by WCI Communities at the Parkland Golf & Country Club.
During the cocktail reception, members of the MBF – all of whom are top-producing real estate agents – were introduced to WCI Communities’ various projects in South Florida, including Parkland Golf & Country Club, Heron Bay, Oceanside, and Bristol Bay. Mark Smietana, vice president of sales for WCI Communities, made a brief presentation on the company’s behalf, and welcomed the members and guests.
The panel discussion, "Media Coverage of the South Florida Real Estate Market" was moderated by Chris Wren, executive director of the Ft. Lauderdale Downtown Development Authority. The panelists included:
• Matthew Haggman, Miami Herald Real Estate Reporter
• Darcie Lunsford, South Florida Business Journal Real Estate Editor
• Paul Owers, Sun-Sentinel Real Estate Reporter
• William Plasencia, South Florida CEO Magazine Editor
“This was the most interactive panel discussion the MBF has produced to date, and we hope that it helped bridge the disconnect between the media coverage we’ve been reading and the reality we’ve been experiencing,” said Carolyn Block Ellert, chair of the Broward MBF. “We would like to extend our gratitude to WCI for hosting this event and to our esteemed panelists for handling each of our challenging questions with much dignity.”
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About the Master Brokers Forum
Established in 1993, the Master Brokers Forum is a unique organization comprised of South Florida's top residential real estate professionals. The MBF provides its members with the opportunity to network and exchange ideas, stay at the cutting edge of the real estate industry and new products, and spearhead the identity of the best of real estate professionalism. Membership is limited to the region's most successful real estate professionals, and is by invitation only. The Broward MBF is generously sponsored by Wachovia. For more information, visit www.masterbrokersforum.com.
About WCI Communities
WCI Communities, Inc., named America's Best Builder in 2004 by the National Association of Home Builders and Builder Magazine, has been creating amenity-rich, master-planned lifestyle communities since 1946. Florida-based WCI caters to primary, retirement, and second-home buyers in Florida, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland and Virginia. The company offers traditional and tower home choices with prices from the low-$200,000s to more than $10 million and features a wide array of recreational amenities in its communities. In addition to homebuilding, WCI generates revenues from its Prudential Florida WCI Realty Division, its mortgage and title businesses, and its recreational amenities, as well as through land sales and joint ventures. The company currently owns and controls developable land on which the company plans to build over 21,500 traditional and tower homes.
PHOTOGRAPH CAPTIONS (from left to right)
1. Matthew Haggman, Miami Herald real estate reporter; Carolyn Block Ellert, chair of the Broward MBF; Walker Duvall, Wachovia senior vice president; Darcie Lunsford, South Florida Business Journal real estate editor; Chris Wren, executive director of the Ft. Lauderdale Downtown Development Authority; Mike Tarhini, vice president of Homebuilding for WCI Communities; Mark Smietana, vice president of sales for WCI Communities; Marisa DiLenge, Broward MBF board member; Paul Owers, Sun-Sentinel real estate reporter; and William Plasencia, South Florida CEO Magazine editor
2. Christine Beck, Broward MBF board member; with Master Brokers Joann Snyder; Tom Schon; and Susan Nelson.
3. Judy Simpson learns about WCI Communities from representative Amy Zych, WCI Marketing.
4. Panel moderator Chris Wren, executive director of the Ft. Lauderdale Downtown Development Authority, listens to an answer from Matthew Haggman, Miami Herald real estate reporter. The other panelists are William Plasencia, South Florida CEO Magazine editor; Darcie Lunsford, South Florida Business Journal real estate editor; and Paul Owers, Sun-Sentinel real estate reporter
